Red Thread of Fate
by KrissyMoon
Summary: Kohana Namikaze is the daughter of the late Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. A string of tough events from her childhood have left her emotionally damaged. What happens when the love of her life returns and she finds out the truth behind everything that happened?


_**AN: I do not own anything you recognize just my OC! The picture for the story is what I figure an older Kohana will look like. If you want to know what she looks like as a child just look up Kushina Uzumaki as a child!**_

A little girl's laughter sounded from the busy streets of Konoha. Mother and daughter walked down the streets, holding hands. Simply looking at the pair people could tell they were mother and daughter for they looked exactly the same with bright red hair and facial structure. The only difference was the eyes, the mother with violet eyes and the girl with bright blue.

"Mama, where are we going?" the little girl looked up at her mother with a smile on her face.

The woman smiled down at her daughter, with a hand on her pregnant belly while the other held her daughter's hand, "We're going to see your father!"

After hearing that they were going to see her father, the little girl put a little more oomph into her step to get there faster. The little girl loved spending time with her father but he hardly had time since he became the Hokage.

"Kohana slow down!"

The little girl blushed, "Sorry mama!"

The woman laughed, "I know I'm excited to see him too!" The mother and daughter continued on through the streets till they came to the Hokage's office. The guards let them pass, knowing exactly who they were. The Hokage's secretary greeted them before opening the Hokage's office door for them.

A man with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes looked up from his paperwork to see his wife and daughter enter his office. He jumped up from his seat and rushed over to the pair. He scooped the little girl up into a hug, spinning her around making her laugh, "Well hello my little flower!" he gave her a kiss on the cheek before setting her down and going to his wife. He placed a kiss on his wife's lips, "Hello Kushina my love!" Kohana made a gagging noise, making the husband and wife laugh at their daughter's antics. Minato bent down to his wife's growing belly, putting his hands on her belly, "Hopefully today is the day you decide to join our family little Naruto!"

_Later that night…_

"Kohana please be good for Mikoto!" Minato kissed his daughter's forehead before standing up, "I love you my little flower!"

The little girl had tears in her eyes as she looked up at her father, "I love you too papa."

Minato looked back at her one last time before fleeing from the house, rushing to get to save his village. Kohana watched as the demon destroyed parts of her village, wishing she could be by her mother and father's side. Kohana felt a hand on her shoulder; she looked over at the dark haired boy who stood next to her. "Come on Ko…we'll be safe inside!" Kohana followed her friend since birth, into his house where his mother and baby brother, Sasuke, waited in the living room.

Mikoto rushed to the little girl, with the baby in her arms, and pulled her into a one armed hug, "They will be back soon Kohana and you will have a baby brother to meet in the morning!"

Kohana smiled at the thought of finally meeting her baby brother, she had been waiting since her parents had told her that her mother was pregnant. She was excited not to be an only child anymore and to have a brother, like Itachi had Sasuke. Just then Itachi's father, Fugaku, came rushing into the house. Mikoto must have known something was up because she handed Sasuke to Itachi, "Watch over Sasuke you two. I'll be back in a little while!" With that the Uchiha parents were out the door.

Sasuke began to cry from the absence of his mother making Itachi rock him back and forth. Kohana watched as Itachi had a slight smile on his face as he looked at his baby brother. She couldn't help but feel that she would be doing the same with Naruto when he was born.

"Come on Kohana; let's go sit on the steps. The cool air might make Sasuke feel calmer."

That night Itachi and Kohana watched the battle rage. The two friends took turns holding Sasuke throughout the night, making sure to rock him and sing to him so he stayed asleep.

_A few days later…_

Kohana stood in front of her parent's grave, staring at the tombstones. Tears poured down her cheeks as she barely listened to the speeches people made on behalf of her parents. Standing to her right was her father's apprentice, Kakashi Hatake. He kept his hand on the five year olds shoulder as he mourned the death of his sensei. Itachi Uchiha stood on Kohana's left, staring at his friend as she cried for her parents. Itachi held onto his friend's hand and wiped her tears away with his other hand. Kohana looked up at her friend, giving him a sad smile before looking down at her feet as more tears sprang from her eyes.

Kohana stayed at her parent's grave when the ceremony ended. She didn't know what else she would do or what would happen to her now that her parents were dead; she was an orphan now. Kakashi walked up to the little girl, kneeling before her, "Come Kohana, it's about to start raining. You can stay at my house with me till we settle everything out!" The teary eyed little girl nodded before taking Kakashi's hand and following him to his apartment.

_Two years later….._

"I did it Kakashi!" A smiling Kohana walked up to her guardian with her shinobi headband in her hands.

Kakashi smiled through his masked face, "I knew you could do it Kohana. You've been training very hard to become a kunoichi. You're mother and father would be proud!"

Kohana smiled dropped slightly at the mention of her parents. The two years without them had been rough on the young girl. Often times she would cry herself to sleep, wishing her parents were there to console her and tell her everything was alright. More than anything, she wished her parents were there to see her now as she made her way up the ranks. "I miss them Kakashi…"

She felt Kakashi put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, wiping the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. He smiled at the young girl through his cloaked mouth, "I know, I do too Kohana. Just remember they're smiling down on you right now."

Kohana smiled up at her guardian, "Thanks Kakashi. I have to go meet Itachi at the training grounds!" With that the young red haired girl raced off into town.

_Seven years later…_

Kohana glided through the trees with amazing speed, jumping from limb to limb. A smile graced her face as she came to the flower field where she and Itachi met on their off time. She could make out his silhouette already waiting for her. She jumped from the last tree, landing just a few feet from him with grace.

Itachi smiled at the red haired teen, "I didn't think you were going to show up for a minute there Kohana."

Kohana raced into his waiting arms, "I would never miss spending time with you Itachi!" Itachi held the red haired teen in his arms, taking in her scent. It had been a few weeks since the two had last seen each other since they were both busy on missions. Itachi had always savored the time they got to spend together.

Kohana smiled as she felt Itachi's lips touch her forehead, enjoying the feeling of warmth it sent through her body. Over the years Kohana had realized her true feelings for Itachi; even at such a young age of thirteen she knew she loved Itachi. It wasn't until about a year ago had the two expressed their feelings and began to hid their relationship from their family and friends. Only when they were truly alone would they show their true feelings for each other. The reason they hid their relationship was because of Itachi's father, Fugaku. Fugaku would never approve of Itachi being with someone other than an Uchiha, let alone the daughter of a deceased jinchuriki.

"I can't stay long but I had to see you before I left for another mission!" Itachi looked deep into the red haired teen's bright blue eyes.

Kohana frowned slightly, "How long will you be gone this time?"

"I don't know…but you'll be the first to know when I return!" Kohana noticed the shift of his eyes, there was something that Itachi wasn't telling her. Kohana decided not to push since their time to spend together was so short; she didn't want to spend their time arguing.

"ITACHI!" The two lovers heard someone call from the woods not far. The two separated quickly, looking towards where the voice was coming from. Before anyone could see Itachi kissed Kohana on the lips before darting off towards the voice. As he reached the tree line, he looked back at Kohana giving her one last smile before disappearing into the woods.

_Later that night….._

The moon shone through her bedroom window as she cleaned her kunai after her training earlier. Kohana had the house to herself since Kakashi was off somewhere probably reading his weird books. A noise outside her window broke her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Itachi standing on the roof outside her window. A smile broke on her face as she ran to her window, opening it to allow Itachi in. She wasn't surprised that he was here; often times when Kakashi was out Itachi would sneak in through her window. Kohana closed her window before turning to look at Itachi. Her eyes widened as she realized that his clothes were slightly torn and he had blood splattered all over him.

"Itachi…" her voice trembling slightly as she backed away from him.

"Promise me something Kohana."

"What happened Itachi?" she stood her ground as Itachi slipped closer to her.

Itachi lifted his hand and brushed a strand of her bright red hair behind her ear. As he took his hand away, a piece of her red hair had wrapped itself around his small finger. Itachi looked at the hair wrapped around his small finger, "I knew it would have been you…"

Kohana felt tears form in her eyes as she noticed her hair on his small finger; it seems that the red thread of fate had tied them together. Kohana quickly blinked back the tears before Itachi could see them, "Answer me Itachi!"

Itachi looked up into her bright blue eyes, "Not until you promise me to take care of Sasuke. He's going to need someone after I'm gone."

"Gone?" Kohana touched his cheek, "Where are you going Itachi? What is going on?"

"Please tell me you will take care of him Kohana!"

Kohana nodded, "I promise Itachi, now please tell me!"

Itachi let out a pent up sigh, "Just remember that I love you and I always will…"

Kohana felt her heart skip a beat; that was the first time that Itachi told her he loved her. Kohana smiled at him, "I love you too Itachi!"

"I killed my clan…" Kohana's smile dropped from her face in confusion. "I killed them to test my skill and I left Sasuke the only survivor."

Tears formed in her eyes, "Is this a joke?"

Itachi smiled sadly, "No. My clan is dead and it's all because of me!"

Kohana didn't know how to handle the information Itachi had just given her. Her hands covered her mouth as she backed into a wall and slid down it. She took deep breaths; her body seeming to not handle the news as it made it hard for her to breathe. Itachi stepped towards his love, she flinched away from him.

"You killed Shisui, didn't you?" Itachi turned his face away from her, not daring to look her in the eyes. He didn't have to say anything for Kohana to know the truth. "Get away from me…" her voice showing the courage she was gaining. Itachi touched her face, to which she slapped his hand away, "Don't touch me Itachi!"

Itachi smiled, "Just remember I love you Kohana and I did this for you!" With that he opened her window and jumped out onto the roof. Kohana raced to the window, watching as he descended to the ground below. Itachi looked back at Kohana, blowing her one last kiss, before he raced off into the night.

Kohana wiped her tears away before she ran to her dresser grabbing her kunai and her kunai pouch, before leaping out her window and racing across the rooftops towards the Uchiha compound. She had to see for herself if what Itachi told her was true and she also had to find Sasuke.

Kohana dropped to the ground right outside the Uchiha compound. She took a deep breath before entering through the large wooded gate. A gasp left her lips as she looked around at the bodies that littered the ground. She pushed past the bodies and made her way towards Itachi's home, hoping that was where she could find Sasuke. Kohana stopped in front of the house that she had visited so many times before. Kohana wiped away the tears as she knew that the bodies of Mikoto and Fugaku would be inside. Mikoto had become like a mother to her after her mother died all those years ago. Whenever Kakashi was away, Kohana would go to the Uchiha house to have dinner. Mikoto loved Kohana as if she were the daughter she never had.

A sob escaped her lips as she ran to the body of Mikoto and Fugaku. She crouched down next to Mikoto and felt her neck for a pulse. Kohana knew it was useless because of the wounds and the amount of blood that had pooled underneath her body but Kohana had to know for sure. "Rest easy Mikoto…I will keep Sasuke safe."

Kohana stood, wiping the tears from her face, before she began searching the house for any sign of Sasuke. Kohana made her way outside, searching the streets till she found Sasuke laying face down in the dirt. "SASUKE!" did Itachi lie when he said that he left Sasuke alive. She raced to Sasuke's side and flipped him over onto his back. She could see his chest rise and fall with short breathes making Kohana sigh with relief. Kohana cradled Sasuke in her arms until Kakashi and his team of ANBU showed up. Kohana looked up at Kakashi with tears running down her cheeks, she just held onto Sasuke harder as she darted off into the night towards the hospital. _'Don't worry Sasuke. I'll protect you no matter what!'_

_**AN: Sorry that this chapter jumped around a lot. I just wanted to get a back story on Kohana's childhood before I started with the actual story. If you all are wondering what the significance of the red hair on Itachi's small finger, it's called the red thread of fate or also the red string of fate. Here's a definition I got off of Wikipedia:**_

"_**The red string of fate, also referred to as the 'red thread of destiny', 'red thread of fate', and other variants, is an East Asian belief originating from Chinese legend and is also used in Japanese legend. According to this myth, the gods tie an invisible red string around the ankles of men and women who are destined to be soul mates and will one day marry each other. Often, in Japanese culture, it is thought to be tied around the little finger. The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of time, place or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break. This myth is similar to the Western concept of soul-mates or a twin flame."**_

_**I'm sure you can all guess what that means for Kohana and Itachi but it will have some twists. I figured I would tie that in because Kushina often referred to her hair as 'red threads of fate'. Anyways thank you everyone for reading! Next chapter will not jump around so much, I promise!**_


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